We Will Not Keep From Singing

A whole new world may yet be born…

God, we need to hear those words! And believe them!

We live in such dire times – and it’s been hard and excruciating for so many people for decades and centuries, too, not just in recent times. We have always lived in such dire times.

And, we have always lived with hope, resistance, and community. Sometimes those realities have been hard to see or experience, but they’ve always been there. There’s something powerful about a people – a community – an individual – who will never stop their singing. No matter what. Marginalized people have taught the rest of us that – and we whose history, culture and power have been responsible for marginalizing others can find a way to sing in the midst of confession and lament, as we promise to work towards real change and actual justice.

A whole new world may yet be born – and all of us can be the midwives, defying definitions set for us by the status quo, the “powers and principalities”, acknowledging and grieving our participation in environmental devastation and injustice, but not giving up in the struggle to make it right, to bring reconciliation and restorative justice.

This song is about acknowledging creation’s pain. It’s also about knowing that since we’re not alone, we can push forward into creating this new world.

The entire song is printed below. The tune is popularly known as “How Can I Keep From Singing?”  The song is also in a PDF document.

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1.   When eyes are opened to earth’s woes, and know creation’s grieving
      God's love empowers us to act, and hope will keep us singing.

Refrain:
      A whole new world may yet be born, with hope and justice ringing!
     We’ll make the choice and do the work. We will not keep from singing!

2.   Should halls of pow'r, control and greed say where we should be clinging?
      Don't let them tell us who we are! Push back! And keep on singing!

Refrain

3.   The work is hard – we won’t give up. Together we can do this!
      And in this work, we’ll celebrate. And we will keep on singing!

Refrain

4.   God calls us all to live as one. Diverse the gifts we're bringing
      To one community of life that never stops its singing.

Refrain